Last Updated on 18 February 2026

The following list is a compilation of the 70 best film scores by Howard Shore.

I found 13 different ranked lists online of “best Howard Shore scores” and pulled them all into Excel and merged them all to get this definitive compilation.  See my Methodology page for the research process that was used, including links to all 13 lists that were averaged.

  1. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
  2. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
  3. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
  4. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
  5. The Fly (1986)
  6. The Departed (2006)
  7. Se7en (1995)
  8. The Aviator (2004)
  9. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
  10. A History of Violence (2005)
  11. Ed Wood (1994)
  12. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)
  13. Big (1988)
  14. Hugo (2011)
  15. Spotlight (2015)
  16. Eastern Promises (2007)
  17. Philadelphia (1993)
  18. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)
  19. Dead Ringers (1988)
  20. Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)
  21. Gangs of New York (2002)
  22. After Hours (1985)
  23. The Betrayal (2008)
  24. A Dangerous Method (2011)
  25. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010)
  26. High Fidelity (2000)
  27. Pieces of a Woman (2020)
  28. Videodrome (1983)
  29. Dogma (1999)
  30. Panic Room (2002)
  31. Nobody’s Fool (1994)
  32. Naked Lunch (1991)
  33. The Cell (2000)
  34. eXistenZ (1999)
  35. Crash (1996)
  36. Doubt (2008)
  37. Edge of Darkness (2010)
  38. The Brood (1979)
  39. Scanners (1981)
  40. The Game (1997)
  41. Spider (2002)
  42. The Client (1994)
  43. Looking for Richard (1996)
  44. Analyze This (1999)
  45. Cosmopolis (2012)
  46. The Yards (2000)
  47. Crimes of the Future (2022)
  48. The Song of Names (2019)
  49. That Thing You Do! (1996)
  50. The Shrouds (2024)
  51. The Truth About Cats and Dogs (1996)
  52. Cop Land (1997)
  53. Denial (2016)
  54. Maps to the Stars (2014)
  55. Rosewater (2014)
  56. Fire with Fire (1986)
  57. Single White Female (1992)
  58. Funny Boy (2020)
  59. She-Devil (1989)
  60. The Last Mimzy (2007)
  61. M. Butterfly (1993)
  62. Prelude to a Kiss (1992)
  63. Heaven (1987)
  64. Silver (1993)
  65. Before and After (1996)
  66. Guilty as Sin (1993)
  67. Jimmy P: Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian (2013)
  68. Esther Khan (2000)
  69. A Kiss Before Dying (1991)
  70. Nadine (1987)

Loading